Module Overview:
This module examines three core business disciplines that each has some unique features when extended into an international setting. The three disciplines are marketing, operations, and human resource management.
The case study in this module provides a good illustration for how marketing, operations, and human resource issues can differ across countries.
It examines the efforts by Toy's R US to enter the Japanese toy market, a market dominated by small retailers and distributors relying upon close relationships.
Module Readings and Assignment:
Complete the following readings early in the module:
•Module online lectures
•From the textbook, International business: The challenges of globalization, 8th, please read the following:
?Developing and marketing products
?Managing international operations ?Hiring and managing employees
Assignment: Discussion Questions-Marketing, Operations, Financing, Human Resources
Marketing, operations, and human resource management are core areas of business. An international setting provides unique challenges in each of these areas.
Research the topic using your textbook, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet. Respond to the following:
•Consider a foreign company marketing its products in the United States, such as the Mexican company Cerveceria Modelo that markets Corona beer in the USA. Analyze the complexities of one of the following:
?Developing product strategies (including cultural differences)
?Assessing the promotional strategies
?Developing distribution methods
?Assessing pricing strategies
•Next, consider operational issues in the U.S. market and analyze the complexities of one of these following issues:
?Production strategies
?Accessing physical resources and managing inventory
?Maintaining quality
?Financing the operations
•From the perspective of a small company venturing into international operations for the first time, discuss what you feel are the three most difficult issues that must be overcome in recruiting, selecting, and training workers. Explain how each difficulty might be overcome.